The Bet
by Plushie Heartless
Summary: Tala and Kai make a bet: Who can summon his weak conversation skills better for a long chat with the object of his affection? [Being rewritten]
1. Chapter 1: The Bet

* * *

Chapter 1

* * *

"_I've been sittin', waitin', wishin' you believed in superstition..._" Max sang softly in English, walking through the brand new BBA headquarters in search of the weight room. He was thinking of doing some endurance training... for what good was it to have a world-famous defense if you couldn't_ maintain _it? 

Humming the next bit, the blond turned the corner to see his catlike friend Ray apparently...trying to push down the door? How very odd. He was pressed against the surface, those telltale golden eyes squeezed shut in extreme concentration.

"Hey, Ray, what are you-" Max never finished the sentence, as his friend started in surprise, then shot down the remaining distance, one hand covering the startled blond's mouth, the other pulling their faces close. Ray's lips ghosted over his ear, breath fanning across his cheek in heavy waves. The blond shivered.

His face was probably a bright red! **_What was Ray doing? _**

"Quiet Maxie, this is a once-in-a-lifetime event!" The neko-jin whispered with that wonderfully tempting mouth of his.

His own mouth moving in silent questions against his dark-haired teammate's hand, Max's bright blue eyes met now wickedly amused gold.

"Well," Ray then stopped and snickered. Yes, SNICKERED. What in Sam Hill's name was going on here?

"Well," The Chinese Beyblader started again. "You know what they say about exercise- Exercise makes endorphins, and endorphins make you happy!" He pulled back, fanged grin very wide, arm gesturing to the door.

Unsure of what he may find, Max slowly crept over and peered through the slit.

The inside was_ interesting_, alright...

Kai was doing sit-ups, face flushed and shining with sweat. Gone was his scarf, vest and (Gulp! - Think of Ray!) shirt...but his stripes were still in place...Hm... The taxed state he was in probably didn't mean the Russian was out of shape, however, since Max knew firsthand Kai could keep up this pace for hours... and he had, from the look of things. That, and Kai looked sort of scary, because his eyes were shadowed by the glaring overhead lights...

Across the BBA private gym, Tala, also shirtless, was beating the living daylights out of _a bloody peace of meat_! Okay, a red punching bag, but from the expression on the redhead's face, you wouldn't know that.There was just something about watching the Russian,sweaty and concentrated, beatsomething... If Kai was a little scary, then Tala was... in one word: **terrifying**.

These were happy people?

"...They get really chatty when hyped up from a good work out, it seems." said Ray, fanged grin stretching further.

Max looked back in again, and sure enough, their mouths were moving in conversation. If he squished himself up against the door, he could just barely hear what the childhood buddies were saying...

"You call **me** a stalker? At least I've talked to him!"

"Hmph, I'm sure! 'Hn, go away, leave me alone'- that's greeeeeat Kai." The familiar voice of Tala sneered. "Real engaging conversation."

"It's better than just coming to his matches to **stare **at him." Kai shot back, rather sarcastically.

"Oh, and you've _never_ done that."

"At least he knows I'm there for him, unlike **someone **we know."

"Yeah, yeah..." Electric blue eyes rolled as he slammed his fist once more into the poor punching bag. "Well, at least **I** don't know his shoe size."

Their duel-haired friend made an almost imperceptible 'huff' sound. "You'd check too, if he just left the room, and they were just right in front of you..." Violet eyes glinted in sarcastic triumph, having found yet another way to get a dig on Tala. "Not that he'd ever invite _you_ in, giving you a chance..."

There was a lull in the talking for a long time, so much that Max was able to turn around and give Ray a_ very_ puzzled look.

"Primary colors. All he wears are primary colors." Tala stated randomly, his gloved fist connecting with a 'thump' once more.

"Well, at least he doesn't look like some Safari Tour Guide."

The redhead sighed wistfully, something neither Ray nor Max had ever witnessed before. "He wouldn't dress so badly if **I** could get a hold of him..." He tugged up his pants, the ones to his orange, white and blue outfit. Max repressed a giggle with his bright green gloves, his green-and-yellow-clad shoulders shaking slightly. Ray rolled his eyes at both of them.

...But... Primary colors? A safari tour guide? Both sounded eerily _familiar_...

Another giant, gaping pause passed in the World of Incredibly Intimidating People aka the gym. Max didn't really notice, as Ray chose then to listen in as well, meaning he pressed all that yummy Rayflesh against Max's back.

"...And he didn't dress like that when I met him. He had that 'School Nerd' necktie/pocket protector thing going. It was...endearing." The redhead finished, also randomly.

'AND TRAUMATIZINGLY!' Max added in his head, though unsure if 'traumatizingly' was even a word.

"And did he dye his hair? I was sure he was a cute carrot-top red when we first met."

_'Cute'?_

Kai stopped mid-up. "I have no clue- I don't ask those things."

The redhead Russian smirked. "I can just see what that would be like- he'd have a heart attack."

"Hn. At least I can talk to him about certain things without his fragile little heart exploding... Imagine you trying to make ANY conversation with him."

"Heh, I haven't had much time on my hands between the end of the world championships and the BEGA incident." Tala explained, then boasted, "I'll break him down..." Smirk. "You, on the other hand... How long have you known him? Two years?"

"Bordering on three, actually," was Kai's dry reply.

"And you two still can't have a 'normal' moment together." Tala's smirk grew considerably. "I haven't been in... _you know_, **that** long..."

'You know'? No, they didn't, but Max could think up some ideas...scaaaary, **traumatizing **ideas, if they involved **_Tala_**.

"Hnn..." Kai heaved himself up once more. "We could...talk together... normally..." Violet eyes narrowed at the 'Yeah, right' expression forming on his childhood friend's face. "If I _tried_."

"Then why don't you?" Tala's voice had grown very loud, as it always did when a challenge was made. "I bet- I BET you can't even do it. I bet a conversation with Kenny and I could last longer than one with you and Tyson."

The two outside froze, jaws hanging limp as they listened, rather numbly, to Kai responding sarcastically, "_Oh really_, Tala? You think so... Kenny wouldn't be able to last three minutes in a conversation with you, if it didn't involve Beyblade parts. He'd wet himself, he'd be so damn terrified."

Their eyes met. 'Tala...and _KENNY?'_ Max was too stunned to even twitch.

"You think so? Kai, if you brought up anything besides Beyblade with Tyson, he'd laugh his ass off!" Tala stopped his brutal beating of the bag and swaggered over to where Kai continued to exercise his already flawless abdomen. "So, do you want to test that, Kai?"

"Test what?" Kai snapped irritably, stopping to wipe some sweat from his eyes.

"Test and see... which one of us could hold a conversation longer. And no Beyblade." Electric blue eyes positively glowed. "No awkward silences, either. This will be a fair fight."

Sweaty gray bangs fell to obscure Kai's face. Maybe he was thinking it over... Or maybe he had finally frozen into a complete statue...

"Scared?" Tala taunted.

**"You're on."** Was the final, dark reply. Kai stood, and the guys outside felt themselves give a nervous twitch. The Russian blader looked so **_intense_**...

"Wait" his old 'acquaintance' called. "Winner has to..." Tala racked his brain for a good and **evil** punishment. "Fess up to the world he's gay as hell."

"Whatever." Their friend's lip curled in a sneer. "Everyone already knows that about **you**."

Kai then whirled away majestically, without a scarf, even! Then left through locker room exit on the other side of the weight room.

Suddenly squaring his shoulders, the redhead faced the door. "Hey, eavesdroppers, get out here." Command, not question. Eeep!

The members of the former-G Revolutions timidly pried the door open and slowly moved inside.

The blond tried to think rationally and calmly, glancing at his feline companion... Suddenly, all he could think of was how either Brad or AJ (he didn't remember which) dubbed him 'Zen Master Ray'.

Said Zen Master looked completely composed, asking a simple, "How?"

"Your breathing was so loud, people in Australia can hear you." The terrifying youth scoffed, finding his shirt and pulling it on despite his sweatiness.

Max, in a state of mental void, decided then and there that the way Tala said 'Australia' was interesting. Australia, Australia, Australia...

"...I'll win, I'm sure of it. If Kai really could hold a conversation with Tyson he would have, by now." The redhead was saying, the picture of absolute arrogance. Max decided he'd better try and pay attention.

"...Um...About you..." Ray tried to tactfully pose a question, tugging on the neck of his shirt. "Why, er... _Kenny_?" he settled for asking, rather incredulously.

"...I don't need to explain myself!" Tala snapped angrily, electric eyes narrowing. Max hopped in surprise, glomming onto Ray's arm.

"Err, okay."

The blond whimpered slightly.

The neko-jin raised an eyebrow, turning slightly pink. "...Right."

"Good luck!" Max squeaked out, spinning quickly on his heel. The Chinese blader valiantly held his position.

"...Get your ass back here." Another command. The blond spun back around. Ray just looked really calm, as if being ordered around by sweaty, murderous-looking Russians was a normal thing for him. "You're not getting off that easily."

"Oh..." Max stared as the redhead cracked his knuckles.

"First off, no blabbing, you understand?" They nodded together. "Good. If I find out you told anyone, especially Tyson or Kenny-" Tala's cheeks turned pink, and it was not from all that exercise. At that moment, Kai could've barged back in, chewing the bitten off heads of several small rodents and no one would have been fazed. "You will **regret **it."

More nods.

Dammit, why was he so SCARY? Max didn't remember being this intimidated before!

Blushing Tala was scary. Suddenly amused and smiling Tala was ALSO scary. "Now, I think I've found a use for you two eavesdroppers..."

* * *

End Chapter


	2. Chapter 2: The Referees

* * *

Chapter 2: The Referees

* * *

A barefoot Kai was laying down, stretched out on the soft grass of the park. To an observer, he might seem peacefully sleeping, but rest was the farthest thing on the Russian's mind. He was thinking of, of course, the bet he and Tala had recently made. 

_"I bet," started Tala, his voice growing louder, "I **BET** you can't even do it. I bet a conversation with Kenny and I could last longer than one with you and Tyson."_

_'And I **agreed** to it! I must be going f-ing insane, agreeing to something like that!'_ Kai was too wrapped up in his own angst that he didn't even notice the furry body of his cat rubbing against his leg.

"**Ow!**" Kai did notice, however, when it bit his big toe. He sat up and glared at the feline, who now dug his claws into his foot. "_Kitty..."_ he threatened more than warned, watching as said kitty unlatched its evil talons, little trails of blood seeping from the wounds.

Kai sighed and pulled a handkerchief from out of his pocket, proceeding to clean the blood from his slightly throbbing foot.

"_Meow."_

Kai looked down at his cat (He had finally taken it in, after all) and smirked. "You have really weird ways of catching my attention, Kitty." He reached out and scratched the little monster behind the ears.

The Russian heard a sound in the bushes and jerked his violet gaze upward to see...

Tyson walking toward him, grinning. "Hey, Kai! What'cha doin'?" the navy-haired boy asked, before stopping at the sight of the cat.

"Nothing, actually." was Kai's reply. He arched an eyebrow. "Umm, why are you so rigid?"

Tyson quickly glanced at Kai before tuning his gaze back on the cat that was now watching him with curious eyes.

"I-I'm not a big fan of cats. They tend to, heh, heh... freak me out..."

'Kitty' slunk forward and rubbed against Tyson's legs. The boy jumped slightly and backed away from the kitty, only to have the cat follow in hot pursuit. Pretty soon, Tyson was running around in circles, scream for Kai to call the 'evil thing' off him.

Before Kai could do anything, however, Tyson tripped and lunged forward. Tyson closed his eyes and wait for impact of the hard earth, but met something soft, yet firm (very firm!) instead.

Hmmm... Tyson's hands experimentally roamed over this strange thing. Last time he checked, the ground did not have abs like this...

"Tyson!" Kai said in a tight voice. "Get up and stop...**that!**"

Tyson opened his eyes to see Kai laying beneath him, a slightly pained, mostly _embarrassed _expression on his face.

"Oh my god, Kai! Are you okay?" squeaked the Japanese boy, scrambling to his feet.

Kai rose more gracefully shortly after. Tyson looked Kai over, making sure he wasn't hurt. He blushed under Tyson's intense gaze. When the champ was sure that no injuries adorned Kai's extremely sexy body, he looked into Kai's widened eyes.

Easily, Tyson was lost in those dark purple depths... that is, until he felt the cat brushed against his legs again.

He jumped and crashed right into Kai, instinctively wrapping his arms around Kai's neck. The Russian kept his balance, his blush coming back tenfold. He slowly brought his arms up and wrapped them around the 'freaked out' boy. He felt Tyson tense before completely relaxing in Kai's embrace.

Minutes later, they were frozen in that position. Both were sweatdropping, unable and unwilling to suggest they break apart and even more unwilling to admit that.

'_We **are** not talking..._' Kai's eye twitched. Perhaps there was some truth behind Tala's angry words...

_"I'm blue...Da ba dee, da ba die,da ba dee, da ba die..." _They sprung apart, Tyson grinning sheepishly.

"Sorry. It's my cellphone- Hiro got it for me." He flashed the small, ringing perpetrator before flipping it open. "Hello? Oh! Gramps! Wha-You need what? You have 'the need for fig seed'? Oh, peach buns. I see. I'll pick some up if I can. Now? Ugh, fine. Later." Tyson hung up and shook his head. "Damn Ray for getting him into those." He blinked, then looked at Kai shyly. "Umm, I've got to go. I'll see you later?"

At Kai's nod, Tyson smiled happily and left humming a tune.

Wistfully, Kai watched his crush go. He flopped back down onto the grass and closed his eyes, a smile on his striped face.

"Who knew? Kai the softie!" came a sarcastic voice from behind. Kai didn't even have to turn around to see who it was.

"What do you want, Tala?" Kai spat, annoyed and plotting murder. Tyson was the only one who got to call him 'softie' – and **live**.

"You haven't forgotten our bet already, have you?" The taller Russian questioned, stepping into Kai's view. "I just thought I would introduce our little referees." Tala's electric blue eyes glinting, he gestured for the two people hidden behind the trees to come forward.

Kai sat up. "What the hell do you mean- Max? Ray? Tala, what the **xxxx!**" roared Kai, jumping to his feet.

Max squeaked and hid behind Ray, only to peek over his shoulder a second later. Tala just stood there smirking annoyingly, watching his childhood buddy fume.

"They overheard everything, our whole conversation... So I decided to put them to use. They'll secretly follow us on our dates with Tyson and Kenny."

Kai stood there, taking this in, the line, 'What the xxxx did I get myself into?' coming back to him.

"So, have you decided who will go with who?"

"Yes." Max and Ray shared a blink. Apparently they had not been told. Tala's smirk grew. "Ray goes with you, Max with me."

Max squeaked again. Clutching Ray, he whispered loudly,

"I don't wanna go with _Tala_! Raaay! Don't make me go with him! Please, Ray! He scares me..." Kai and Tala turned their full attention onto the two teens.

Ray smiled at the scary Russians. "I'll be right back. C'mon, Maxie." The neko-jin ushered the frightened blond back behind the trees.

"Maxie, Maxie," Ray put his hands on his friend's shoulders. "What's wrong? Why are you so freaked out?"

"I don't wanna go with Tala. He scares me." Max looked up at Ray with his best tear-filled puppy dog eyes.

The Chinese boy sighed, smiled slightly, and pulled Max into a comforting hug. The blond completely relaxed in Ray's arms and brought his own up to wrap around Ray's waist.

* * *

"So, you mean to tell me that those two will be docking points- or whatever-for 'awkward pauses' and 'talk of beyblade'? Am I right?" Kai asked Tala, giving the other Russian his coldest glare. 

"Correct. I said it would be a fair fight. Ray!" Tala's eyes narrowed with distaste. "If the little puppy is calmed down, c'mon out!"

Tala and Kai waited a few moments before Ray came out with Max at his side, arms wrapped around the Chinese teen's waist.

"It's time to go. Ray, you're going to follow Kai. The scared little pup will come with me." Max twitched and clutched Ray tighter.

Ray looked down at Max, who had his face buried in his chest, and smiled. He gently pushed Max back and took his face in his hands. "Don't worry so much- I'll see you later tonight, promise. It's not the end of the world."

The last bit made Max smile. "No, I guess you're right, but it sure feels like it."

"Well, then, maybe I can help." Ray offered. When Max looked at him, confused, Ray leaned over (they were almost the same height, after all) and placed a gentle kiss on Max's lips. He pulled back and gave the blushing American a grin and thumbs up.

"For luck." He added, when Max's blush only intensified. But it was worth it, to see the brilliant smile now lighting the blond's face.

"I..." He glanced at Kai and Tala, who were watching with identical smirks. "I'll see you later, Ray-_chan_." He finally said, adding a wink at the end. Ray smiled and gave him another peck on the lips before shooing him off to go stand with Tala.

"We're leaving, Max. I need to talk to you." An amused glint entered his electric blue eyes. "Oh, Kai? I'm having coffee with Kenny tomorrow." Kai's eyes widened in shock as Tala walked away with a reluctant Max in tow.

When Tala and Max were out of sight, Kai turned to Ray and did the unthinkable-

"Will you help me ask Tyson out to lunch for tomorrow?"

Ray's eyebrows rose. "You just asked for my **help**?"

"Yes. I can't do this without a..." Gray bangs shifted to hide his expression. "...friend."

"Weeeeell, when you put it that way, I guess I can help you."

"Thanks." said Kai, gratitude showing in his violet eyes. "Well, then," the duel-haired Russian shifted his feet. "we should get going."

"I agree." replied Ray, lips curving upward.

The two started to walk out of the park together. They were headed over to Tyson's, so Kai could ask him (somehow) out to lunch for the next day.

The peaceful silence was broken by Kai. "So, you and Max?"

"Hmm...we'll see." The neko-jin glanced at his friend. "But I never though I'd see the day when badass Kai Hiwatari _admitted_ to being gay. And **in love** with Tyson, of all people."

"H-hn."

And Ray started to laugh merrily because Kai was a blinding red.


	3. Chapter 3: Advice and Coffee

Chapter 3: Advice and Coffee

* * *

One gloved hand held heavy gray bangs aside, the other pressing a cool, wet compress to a bloodied forehead. Kai had always been praised for his calm, cool demeanorin battle- He had more self-control than most people Ray had ever seen. What, then, could posses him to randomly stop on his way to the Dojo and bang his head against a tree until it bled? 

Hey, that's what **Ray** wanted to know.

"Kai?"

The dull-eyed Hiwatari said nothing. Ray grimaced. Since he had pulled Kai away from using his head as an axe to chop down the unfortunate tree, the Russian had been silent and blank-faced, as if... he wasn't quite all there. Picking the bark and splinters from his friend's head had been interesting, to say the least.

"Kai..." The amber-eyed teen repeated, unsure how to approach Kai's distress tactfully. "Sit down, here's a park bench." Mechanically, Kai obeyed. Ray sighed. "Gods, how should I say this...?"

Kai flinched, his first real expression since entering his doll-like state. He bit his lip for a second, looking up at the neko-jin with haunted eyes. "Ray, I..."

Ray leaned in. "Yes?"

"I..."

He sweatdropped. "Yes?"

"I..."

"..." Ray flopped onto the bench beside his mentally void comrade.

"I... don't-" The neko-jin sat up, nodding eagerly. "I..."

Ray tipped over, saying aloud, "What happened to the days when you were **direct, short, and to the point**, Kai?"

"I... don't have an excuse."

"What?"

"I don't have an excuse!" He snapped. Ah, it seems the brain damage was only temporary. "What do I say, 'I was just in the neighborhood'?" Kai's lip curled in a sneer. "Yeah, that'll work just **great."**

Ray blinked, then shrugged. "You're Kai, you show up randomly. No one really questions these things."

The glare Kai was brandishing may have killed a mortal man, but as it was, Ray had seen it a thousand times and so remained unimpressed.

"Come on, Kai... Just be smooth." He advised.

Kai stared at the neko-jin in a very strange blend of confusion, annoyance and wonder. It was as if he wasn't used to having so much emotion on his face, and it hurt a little. Finally, he echoed, "'Smooth'?"

"_Smooth."_ Ray made a strange, 'smoothing' hand gesture. "Confident. Calm. Put on a face and make it look easy, even when you're sweating and shaking in your boots. You do it all the time in the Beystadium!"

"...**Smooth**." Kai repeated, arching a thick gray brow.

Ray wore a large, fanged grin as he made the gesture again. "_Smooth_."

**"Smooth." **

_"Smooth."_ Ray's grin widened. "Even when you screw up and accidentally say you're going to meet your crush later this night, when you know he's got an early curfew and won't be able to."

Kai paused, then his mouth drew up into something that might have been a smile. "...I see."

"You're welcome. " Ray replied to the unspoken _'thank you'_. "...Just take it from 'The Master'-" He spread his hands out again. "Be _smooth_."

Kai's bangs fell back into his face, hiding the both that he had a large bump on his forehead, and that he had cringed at Ray's action. "...Tyson won't be there when we get there- he's out buying peach buns somewhere."

Ray's eyes glinted. "If he's not, we'll wait for him. There's more of an advantage when the target is off guard anyway."

Ray grinned. Kai remained, for the most part, motionless.

Finally, he said, "**Smooth**?"

"Okay, now you're just trying to procrastinate."

* * *

Sitting at his table, Tala absently wondered what the puppy thought he was going to do- Eat him? Mainly, the redhead was reading Harry Potter and trying to _appear_ calm. Occasionally, his hand would dart out to snatch a piece of his chocolate chip muffin, which Max had insisted he buy along with his usual, a mocha frappuchino with carmel syrup. He had mumbled something about Tala being more endorphin-deprived than Kai. Whatever. 

Glancing at the blond, Tala repressed the desire to roll his eyes. Max Tate was disguised in the usual way- dark shades, matching brown hat and trench coat, and an extremely outdated newspaper from the fifties. It was up to him, he supposed, to keep the very perceptive Kenny from noticing. No big deal, not that it was any more pressure for Tala.

_I need a cigarette,_ Tala found himself thinking, despite the fact that he had never smoked, and never would. Probably.

The fiery-haired teen adjusted his shirt for the umpteenth time. For this special occasion, he had chosen **not** to wear his usual orange-white-blue, but a white dress shirt and black trousers.

_Get a grip, _he mentally chastised himself, _it's only coffee!_

Across the shop, Max, in his ridiculous disguise, gave him a thumbs up.

The redhead felt his eye begin to twitch. Was he that **obviously **nervous that the witless puppy was trying to encourage him?

**  
Oh, crap.**

His whole plan was to keep up his intimidation of the blond, making it hard for the boy to keep his scores properly! Tala scowled at his muffin, fighting the urge to... do something incredibly violent...

Something squeaked. The irate redhead looked up to find...

Kenny. Looking very distraught, asking, "Am I late? I thought you said ten?"

Tala glanced at his watch, standing up (almost knocking over his chair in the process). "It's nine fifty. You're **early**." Kenny still looked worried. "So, calm down, I didn't have anything else to do, so **I** came early too."

"Oh, I see..." There was a small pause, during which Kenny shuffled his feet. Out of the corner of his eye, Tala could see the disguised Max pull out a stopwatch.

The Russian gestured at the chair across from his. "Would you, uh, like to sit down?" He forced a smile. He hoped it didn't look as awkward as it felt.

"Oh!" Kenny turned red. "Uh, sure!" Tala found himself arching an eyebrow as Kenny fumbled into his chair. With a little more grace, Tala also sat down.

Another pause, this one not so strained. Kenny's smile was uncomfortable-looking too, which cheered Tala up _slightly_. On one hand, it meant he wasn't the only one feeling out of place. On the other, it meant he wasn't a very good date. Well. This wasn't a **_date_**, but still!

"Nice weather we've been having."

"Yeah..." Kenny twiddled his thumbs, making the redhead want to beat himself senseless. They were talking about the _weather._ That only happens in those bad teen flicks, when the kids don't know what to say to eachother!

"Um, I have to say, I _was_ surprised when you asked me out yesterday..."

* * *

Tala and Kenny's actual conversation: 

The redhead walked up to him with a simple, "Hey."

Kenny, busy tapping on Dizzy, gave a small, "Hi!", and returned to his very important work of doing who-knows-what.

Tala seemed to scrutinize him for a second, then, "Are you getting enough sleep?"

The brunette looked up. "Huh?"

"You look tired." Tala explained.

Kenny adjusted the position of his glasses on his head quite unnecessarily, and Tala found himself thinking the gesture was strangely... cute. "Well...I have been really busy with this new prototype, but don't worry, I'm getting my sleep."

Tala stared at his shoes. "I just... thought you looked tired. Maybe you need to take a break."

Kenny shrugged.

"Like, tomorrow. We can get coffee or something... you and me." The redhead kicked the ground. "Want to?"

Kenny nodded agreeably. "Uh, sure. Why not?"

"At ten, then?"

"Okay."

"Bye."

"Bye."

* * *

How...awkward. 

To the present, Tala was the one shrugging, trying not to look too startled by the words '_asked me out_'.

"Well, like I said, you looked tired." Inside, the redhead groaned. _Not that again... _"And, uh, I wanted to talk to you."

He had the feeling that beneath that mop of brown hair, Kenny was blinking in surprise. "About what?"

Tala repressed the urge to push back the brunette's hair back and find out. "**You.** I wanted to get to know you better."

Kenny turned red again. "Ah, I'm not very interesting..."

Tala's eyebrows rose. "Yes, you are. You're the only one in the Bladebreakers with a brain."

Kenny was blinking again, he was sure. "Kai-"

"Like I said," Tala smiled again. Well, okay, it was more of a smirk. "You're the only one in the Bladebreakers with a brain." Tala snickered at his half-joke (Not that he was saying Kai was brainless, but the guy HAD done some pretty dumb things in his time...). Kenny made a small 'Oh', then gave a small chuckle.

His smile grew. "Hey, I didn't notice they were playing music...It's MingMing's 'Yuzurenai Negai'!" (Desire Cannot Be Conceded)

Tala listened, looking thoughtful. "Hm... yeah... It's all right, if a little repetitive. I like 'Yakusoku Wa Iranai' better." (I Don't Need Promises)

The brunette made a strange face. "You like MingMing?"

"Sort of..."_ Actually, her songs are really good for dan- _"Do you?"

Kenny broke into a brilliant smile. Tala had to wonder what he had gotten himself into...

Thirty minutes later, Tala knew more about pop idol MingMing than he had ever desired...and he was plotting her demise behind an expression of mild interest. Not only because someone this horribly annoying should not be allowed to taint the face of the planet, but also because Kenny was absolutely _spellbound_. Well, this sitting and listening thing was _okay_- Kenny seemed fine with talking on and on with a few 'Uh-huh...'s as response, and Tala was definitely beating Kai in length now. Plus, this gave Tala time to think...

Earlier he had been wavering between light brown and deep blue, but now he was thinking Kenny's eye color should be more of a nice purple-y blue. Or a sort of lavender.

The brunette stopped abruptly, clamping his mouth shut tight. Tala arched an eyebrow and glanced around. "What's wrong?"

"I'm...boring... you, aren't I?"

Tala blinked. Sending into a murderous rage, perhaps, but boring? No. It was very amusing watching Kenny chatter so animatedly- he just didn't like what the boy was chattering about.

"No, you're not. Go on, who was her last album dedicated to?"

See?

He HAD been paying attention.

Sort of.

If a little unwillingly.

Kenny squeaked. Yes, squeaked. Tala smirked slightly as the younger boy asked unbelievingly, "You were_ listening _to **me**?"

The redhead's smirk grew to full, and he reached out to tap Kenny's glasses lightly, once. "Well, of _course_..."

Kenny suddenly found his own drink (a _carmel_ frappuchino with _mocha _syrup he had gotten up and bought) very interesting. "I see... um, yeah, MingMing-" Tala's eye twitched. "-Only had a dedication on the second page, to a 'very special someone', and the message 'Lets battle again sometime'. Some fans believe it to be one of her old BEGA team-members... I, myself, don't know who it could be."

Was it bad that Tala was immensely relieved to find out that the blue midget had a 'special someone'?

Heh.

Kenny adjusted his glasses for the fifth time that day, and the redhead wasn't tired of it yet. "Um... you know, her sixteenth CD is out." Tala tried not to growl. A full SIXTEEN awful CDs had been inflicted upon this poor world? He might as well slit his wrists now. "I have it reserved. I was going to go get it later today, and, um..."

Tala raised his eyebrows. "What?"

And that was how Tala got ended up at the mall - Kenny had mumbled something like "you want come with?" that Tala had to ask him to repeat twice. The amount of MingMing gaggling fans at the record store made his stomach churn almost as bad as when he was reading the latest Harry Potter- Rowling had gone around the bend, and it showed. Five books worth of character development, down the tubes. Ah, well, at least he got both over with.

Kenny looked like he wanted to go home and listen to it, but they were at the _mall_! To Tala, at least, that meant one thing- they had to go to the arcade. That had been fun – Kenny was quite good at Ms. Packman, but Tala kicked his ass at Galaga.

Kenny was currently immersed in F Zero X, a vibrating racing game. Tala glanced at the other games in mild interest- They had 'Mortal Combat', of course, and a -

"_Oh my effing-_" Tala cut himself off, an 'anger-mark' vein throbbing.

Kenny blinked, climbing out of the Blue Falcon's car. "What's wrong, Tala?" Absently, he recognized that he liked how Kenny said his name, but for the most part he was focused on one thing-

DDR.

'MingMing Style' DDR.

'_That...That... **infidel**!" _he internally seethed. As if capturing the innocent Kenny's attention with her evil seductive charms wasn't enough, the siren also had to taint the sacred art of _Dance Dance Revolution_? At his side, his fists clenched.

"Hey, look..." As it was, he barely registered Kenny exclaiming on what a great idea it was. He did notice, however, when Kenny decided to 'give it a go'. Kenny... had more time on his hands than he let on, or something, because he was quite...good. But did he glance over his shoulder at Tala, for a second?

Tala felt like cracking his knuckles, but refrained as he asked Kenny if he could try now? He could do this! He had already admitted that her songs were good to dance to... If Kenny was good, then Tala was, well...better. A small crowd had formed to watch Tala masterfully shake his arse to the beat. After a few perfect scores, Tala stepped down, satisfied that he had beaten the evil songstress at her own game. Literally.

"Wow." Kenny looked impressed, and that made Tala's pride grow. "Can you teach me to do that?"

"Maybe..." Tala smirked.

Kenny and Tala bid company short after that, as Kenny did have to work on that prototype. Though, Tala had proposed they go out again, for lunch next time. Kenny had smiled and agreed. Tala's gaze remained on Kenny's shrinking profile for a second, before the redhead spun away, determined to not be like Kai, who watched wistfully and was unable to **do** anything.

It was then Tala was aware of someone watching **him**. He turned around again to face...

Max Tate, not saying anything but wearing a big, goofy smile on his face. Tala's eyes narrowed into distrustful slits.

"What?"

Max's grin remained firm. "Oh, I was just thinking how human you acted just then."

Tala quirked an eyebrow. His left, to be exact. Boy, was he doing that a lot today. "Well, what am I supposed to be, a robot?"

The blond blader sweatdropped. "Uh..."

Tala rolled his eyes. "Later, then."

"Buh-bye!" Max said cheerfully, over his shoulder as he dashed off. He ducked into a phone booth, and Tala got a disturbing mental image of 'Super Max' before he shook it off and headed home himself.

* * *

"Where is Max? He said it was 'urgent' when he called..." 

Golden eyes roamed over the various park benches and the fountain. No Maxie in sight. Ray ran his fingers through his bangs again- He probably looked horrible, and it was all Kai's fault! Maybe Max wouldn't notice...

"You're late." Came a deep voice (though it sounded like the person was faking it) behind him. Ray jumped, startled.

"Max! You scared me!"

"Hee hee, it was fun!" Max pulled off his shades (why did he even have them, Ray had to wonder...) and sat on a bench. Smiling, he informed, "I snuck up on Tala too."

"You did?" The raven-haired blader looked over his blond comrade with concern. "You didn't get hurt, right?"

"Why would I be hurt?" Max asked, blinking innocently.

Ray frowned. "Well, yesterday you seemed pretty convinced that he would kill you." Max blushed, and the neko-jin's mouth slowly curved into a smile as the boy recalled,

"Oh, yeah... Well, Tala's only human, Ray." Max winked. "And it showed." Before Ray could ask what the heck **that** meant, the blond went on, "So, how'd things go with Kai?"

"...Not good." Ray rubbed his cheek.

The blond blinked, and pulled Ray down beside him. "What happened to your face?" His fingertips gently stroked the large, purple bruise growing there.

"Kai got mad and punched me." Ray informed, unconsciously leaning into Max's touch.

Max winced in sympathy. "Why'd he do that?"

"Misplacement."

"Huh?"

"Kai wanted to ask Tyson out, but all he ended up doing was challenging him to battle_... Again_." Ray sighed deeply. "Apparently this has happened several times before."

"I see. Poor Kai."

"...The battle's tomorrow...Kai wanted Tyson to be at his best, or something." Another sigh. "Now, what was so urgent that I had to run out here all of a sudden?"

Max grinned. "Oh! I wanted to tell you- did you know Tala can dance?"

"That's a... disturbing thought."

"You didn't have to see it!" They both laughed, imagining the fierce redhead's response to that comment, though Max's was distinctly nervous. "...You know," The blond started, smiling, "Kai can still make it work."

Ray moved his long tail of hair over his shoulder. "What work?"

"The battle. Just because they're there to battle doesn't mean they can't do anything afterwards. Kai can invite Tyson for lunch or whatever." The blond chuckled. "Tyson never turns down a free meal!"

"Mm," was Ray's short response.

"Speaking of going to lunch afterward, I know it's a little late, but do you want to get some with me?" Max's puppy-dog eyes were out and at full power. "Please, Ray-chan?"

"Sure, sure..." Ray seemed somewhat distracted at the moment.

Then there was just one more thing for Max to deal with...

"Ray-chan," Max finally stopped his caress of the neko-jin's cheek. "Did you just purr?"

* * *

End Chapter 


	4. Chapter 4: Zones

* * *

Chapter 4: Zones

* * *

"Ray-chan, did you just purr?" 

The neko-jin's eyes widened and he tried to fight the blush creeping onto his cheeks. How embarrassing! Ray tried to keep his 'cattish tendencies' to a minimum, as they tended to disturb people (Random tongue baths were especially a 'no'. Not that it mattered, since the only one he'd enjoy licking all over was-)

_Oh._

_Ohhhhhh_.

That felt..._really_ nice.

_So...Oh...nice..._

Ray's next purr was more of a pleasure-filled moan, "Don't stop..."

"Oh, you like that?"

_'Yes, yes!'_ Ray screamed in his head, but spoke nothing.

The blond laughed. "You're just like a cat, Ray-chan! You like being scratched behind the ears and everything." But to Ray's disappointment he withdrew his hand from the neko-jin's sensitive, pointed EAR, (what were YOU thinking, pervs!) a blush blotting out the boy's freckles.

The raven-haired teen noted with some annoyance that rubbing against Maxie's legs and demanding he continue would be terribly inappropriate and weird, and might freak the American out. _Dammit_. So the Chinese blader settled for leaning in real close, their shoulders brushing as he said huskily in what he liked to call his 'Low-and-sexy' voice, "Maybe I am...like a cat."

(Oh, he was so_ cool _with lines... he impressed himself.)

He hesitated, thinking back on his catlike qualities... "Does that bother you?" Ray asked carefully.

Max arched golden brows in surprise. "What?" He blinked in surprise. "Why...oh, of course not!" He slung an arm around Ray's shoulders, bringing them closer. "I think that's really cool!" Perhaps to prove his point, Max flashed that million-watt smile, which made the neko-jin smile in return. Unfortunately, the blond also let his arm drop, returning safely to his lap.

Ray took a deep, calming breath.

_'Smooth, Ray-chan, be smoooooth..._

_...did I just refer to myself as Ray-chan?' _

Ray opened his mouth to reply with something smooth – something Tyson had said, in fact: "You don't know how much that means to me, coming from you" ...Gods, Kai was **dense**... only to be cut off by Max clapping his hands together and asking, "Sooo...what about Kai?"

Speak of the dense...er, the devil.

The Chinese blader waved a careless hand and moved as he close as could without climbing into Max's lap. Hmm, not a bad idea...no, no, later. "Max," he whispered, brining out his "Low-and-sexy" voice again, "I don't want to talk about that idiot. Or the other idiot, for that matter."

"Other-?"

"I meant Tala." Ray's eyes narrowed. "This so-called '**_bet_**'-" he spat contemptuously, then softened. "Is an excuse to_ themselves_. Tala and Kai thinkthey need a reason to draw close. Max, I..." The words simply would not come. For the first time in his life, Ray could not speak what he so desperately needed.

The blond wasn't look at him, staring guiltily down at his hands, so the neko-jin tugged his gaze back up with a gentle hand on his friend's chin. Their lips were mere centimeters apart, eyes locked now, and Ray's fingers still grasped Max's chin.

"Ray?"

The Chinese blader's golden eyes flickered over the blond, analyzing his reaction to the close proximity. Max was flustered, to say the least. His face was fast approaching a color known as 'beetroot', light blue eyes growing impossibly wide. He leaned back a little, but did not change his position. Ray was dimly aware that if it were Kai in this situation (he didn't even want to think about Tala!), Kai would take this negatively – that Tyson didn't like him at all, and was creeped out. Ray knew better.

"People don't need a reason to be close together." Ray said meaningfully. Not quite what he wanted to say, but good enough, he supposed.

Gold eyes darkening, he murmured, "I don't want to **justify** my actions, Max. You and I have been friends since the beginning, it seems like... but I want to be closer to you."

"We are close," Max protested weakly, but there was a distinct tilt to his head as he leaned forward again...as if to kiss him first.

Heh, not if Ray had any say in that.

"Not **this** close." Before the blond could ask what he meant, Ray closed the distance between him and his love, gently pressing their lips together. Max's eyes widened further before slowly sliding shut and opening his soft, delicious mouth, letting Ray's probing tongue enter and run over his. The half-American teen sighed into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Ray, bringing him closer, before he started to duel fiercely with his own tongue. Ray moaned at the sudden display of aggression, but didn't relinquish dominance. A couple of **minutes** later, the raven-haired boy broke the heated kiss, much to both of their dissatisfaction. Golden eyes widened. Somehow, he **had **ended up in Max's lap.

"_I love you_." Now, was that so hard?

Well... considering that little love confession had come from **Max**, not Ray...

Ray pressed close and smiled into Max's neck. "I love you too, Max." The American's skin smelled wonderful... Ray snuggled nearer, giving the soft skin a little lick. Maxie gasped, now blushing a crimson color, not as fierce as before. The neko-jin smiled, then licked his way down the blond's neck, finding all the sensitive spots and stopping to nip and suckle, causing the blond to moan and wriggle in appreciation.

A sudden rumble – thunder? It was a cloudless day! – caused Ray to pause in his ministrations. He met the embarrassed (and flushed) Max's eyes.

"Sorry, Ray-chan, but I might be hungry for something _else_..." he gave a silly laugh, "Say, food?"

Ray smiled reassuringly at the blond before giving him a quick kiss. "That's okay, Max. I've already accomplished what I had set out to do."

As Max processed what Ray had meant, his eyes widened with sudden realization and he shoved Ray off him, who only laughed as Max yelled,

"You gave me a **hickey**!"

"More than one, love, more than one."

"Argh! Ray-chan! You shouldn't have done that!"

"Well, first; I didn't hear you complaining a couple of minutes ago, and second; you're mine now. I see no problem with marking you." His tone dropped with the possessive words, then he grinned, "Third; I _am _like a cat."

"What? Hey, wait... some male cats – like tomcats, my mom told me - bite the necks of females when they - Ooh!" Max stopped and glared. It was the most unthreatening thing Ray had ever seen. "I hope you don't think I'm on the _receiving_ end!"

"Oh, yes you are." Ray assured with a smirk. "You're shorter."

"By, like, an inch!" Max shot back, non-threatening glare still present.

"And you're younger, too, therefore less experienced."

"What? And you have 'experience'?"

"Being older makes me more likely to take charge."

Max was stumped by such absurd logic, floundering out, "Well...Well...You're prettier!"

"So? I'm also _sexier_." Ray pointed out, feeling triumphant. "_You're_ the one that looks..." The raven-haired teen paused, finally realizing of what he was implying. What did age, height or even looks have to do with anything? And- "Why are we even talking about this?"

"...I have no idea."

"...huh." Ray contemplated pinching himself to see if this was some wacky dream.

"Anyway," Max started, catching Ray's attention once more. "You should have thought of what my **mother** will think when she sees these!"

Ray shuddered, imagining Judy's reaction. Good shit! She was going hunt him down and murder him for touching her precious _only _**son** – who was ever-so-valuable now that he was a member of a two-time world champion team. There would be no lost love for an evil cat-boy who disapproved of her, tainting her son's mind and now his **body**.

He was so caught up in gruesome scenes depicting his painful death he almost missed Max's grumble, "Over someone who's not even my boyfriend, by the way."

Ray's eyebrows rose beneath his headband. "But **you** said-"

"I said _I love you_, Ray-_chan_, not that I would date you." Max sniffed, looking greatly offended...well, sort of. His lips twitched, but he went on seriously, "Not that you even asked."

"What the-"

"Hmph!"

"Maxie," He started, using the nickname, "I'm sorry. I... didn't realize?" Crap, that sounded like a question more than anything else.

Max sniffed indignantly again, got up and started to walk away, his nose in the air – in other words, walking and sulking, a dangerous pastime if Ray said so himself. Ray, realizing Max had not yet accepted his apology, left the safety of the park bench to catch up with the blond, wrapping his arms around the other boy's waist and physically stopping him.

He nuzzled Max's stiff neck, asking, "Will you be mine, my Maxie, forever, until death do us part?"

"Are you asking me to go steady or to marry you?"

"...I'm just saying whatever comes to mind, love."

"Not very **smooth**," Max teased, glancing over his shoulder with a cheeky grin. So he wasn't really mad...but...

Ray stiffened. "How do you know about that?"_ Did Kai...?_

"I've seen you practicing in the mirror." He confessed, laughing.

'Shit,' Ray mentally cursed, feeling his face heat up in mortification.

"As for your 'proposal'; I will, but," The blond finally turned and wrapped his arms around Ray's neck. Big blue eyes stared into his seriously. "You've got a lot of making up to do."

"Oh?" the raven-haired blader said, relieved that Max had seemingly dropped the 'smooth' thing. "And how can I do that, love?"

"You could buy me lunch, **love.**"

"That's it?"

"Well..." Max looked thoughtful, then an (evil?) little grin settled on his face. Ray wondered what he had gotten himself into. "We'll have to see..." Ray raised an eyebrow. Max giggled insanely, big blue eyes anything but innocent.

Ray looked at him with his last resort- the ever-so-pitiful and pleading puppy-dog eyes. Well, he looked more like an abandoned kitten, but that's beside the point. He'd never used them on Max, (or anyone, really...) so he didn't know if this would help him get his way...

"Aww. how cute!" Max patted his hair, brightly informing him, "It won't work on me, Ray-chan, I invented that look...but I forgive you anyway, added that you owe me a favor later." The neko-jin blinked, but nodded. "Now let's go get lunch."

* * *

Max had grabbed his pouting boyfriend's hand and proceeded to drag him to the nearest restaurant- a WacDonalds, a personal favorite of his. Ray ordered a Tamatori Burger, Max a Teri Cheese Burger, yum! They sat down with their meal, and since Kai was still a no-no topic, Max began informing Ray of Tala and Kenny's little 'date'.

"The Scary Russian danced, eh?" Ray repeated with surprise.

Max nodded, images of Tala and DDR flashing in his head... "Yep! And he's quite good, too, if I do say so myself."

Ray frowned, golden eyes flashing with jealousy.

"I'm better," he stated rather heatedly, a low growl making itself known. Max blinked, picking it up instantly. An (evil!) smirk (?) found it's way onto Max's adorable face.

"Ah, now that I don't know. Tala was really shaking it." He half-teased.

Ray's growl doubled in volume, making some people stare. Max's (evil!) smirk widened into a full-blown (totally evil!) grin.

"Perhaps if you showed me?" Max offered, feigning innocence.

Ray's eyes lit up and he grabbed Max's hand, pulling the amused blond away from their trash to an arcade, where he proceeded to shake his ass to an extremely upbeat song. And, boy, was Max sure wishing that they weren't in public (the tabloids would just _love_ this!), preventing the neko-jin from having his merry way with him, because with the way those hips swayed, Max was sure wanting to-

Eh heh.

When Ray got down, his cheeks were flushed and there was a grin plastered to his handsome face. "I told you I was better."

Max could only nod and smile sweetly.

...because – Ray would never know this - Tala's score was higher.

* * *

Kai was wearing leather pants. Really, really tight leather pants.

Though Tyson would like to say he was thinking on the animals slaughtered to make such glorious pants, at that particular moment the world champion's mind could only comprehend one thing:

Kai was wearing leather pants.

As hard as he tried, Tyson couldn't tear his eyes away from the gentle sway of Kai's hips... and found himself glaring at the three belts Kai had draped across his waist, which obstructed his view of the most important part! The unfairly attractive Russian also wore another belt of a darker color, (which made the other three seem excessive, but they looked cool) tight around his middle, where a plain white tee was tucked. His jacket – also leather- was unzipped and had short sleeves like his usual one, but fiery wings were emblazoned on the back. He had forsaken the scarf for this occasion as well, instead a silver pendant hung from his neck. However, the most drawing part of his attire remained-

Whether some act of mercy or a cruel, cruel torture, Kai turned around, facing Tyson and breaking the boy's stare. Well, for a moment the teen's eyes lingered on the new area presented, but that was only natural, right? His eyes quickly snapped upward.

"Are you coming or not?" Kai's violet gaze conveyed how clearly annoyed he was that Tyson, of all people, should lag behind.

Placing a hand behind his head, Tyson laughed awkwardly. "Yeah, sort of... That beybattle wiped me out, you know!" His grin stretched wide as he asked, "Did I ever tell you what an intense opponent you are?"

'_And those pants did NOT help my concentration...'_

Piercing violet crinkled in smile. "Only for you, Tyson."

Tyson blinked. '_What the heck does **that** mean..._?'

"...I know." Cinnamon eyes closed, Tyson's smile seeming almost too big for his soft, round face. "It's great that we can go all out together and not worry about hurting eachother, isn't it? Like the perfect rivals." He cracked one open, watching Kai carefully.

Something flickered in Kai's dark violet, but all he said was, "...Yeah."

Tyson wanted to sigh.

In fact, he took a moment to bemoan his tragic fate, dramatic tears rolling down his cheeks. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but... He liked to imagine Kai felt the same way he did, somewhere deep that icy heart of his. But nothing was ever going to happen, because Tyson was suffering from random, insane_ fear_. That's right, he was scared...he knew he shouldn't be, but whenever he got close those questions started popping up.

Oh, you know, the agonizing,'What if Kai is straight?'. Well, if Tyson wasn't, it didn't seem like Kai even could be, but you never know...And Kai was never going to do anything if he was gay...

_'Why-oh-why did I fall for-'_

...And Kai was giving him a very disturbed look.

The navy-haired teen blinked, then bounced on the sidewalk, suddenly almost as hyperactive as Maxie. "So let's go get that meal you promised!"

Kai arched an eyebrow, then turned and resumed his graceful walk. "Hope you brought money."

"Heeeey..." Tyson crossed his arms, glaring and unintentionally looking a lot like his captain. "Winner pays, remember? Kai? You remember?"

"Hn."

"KAAAAAIIIII!"

* * *

...Ah, there was nothing quite relaxing on a nice and peaceful day, wasting the time away doing nothing...

Except this was Tala.

Tala didn't do 'wasting time'. He'd grown up with Boris breathing down his neck.Wasting time earned getting leered at, withdisturbing comments about pushing your _youthful body_ to work harder. Wasting time got you traumatized for life.

So he trained, he battled, he plotted the murder of one blue-haired midget of a pop singer, he...read a book...

Well, his newest book was sitting at home, jammed under his bed with several others he couldn't bear seeing at the moment (aka, the entire Harry Potter series)... and he had read almost everything else in his home library _three times_ that week in a mad reading fit to save his scarred mind. Which brought him here, to a bookstore in the mall, hand wavering over the shelves...

...and the shojo manga was calling him...

Tala did not read shojo manga. He barely read manga in general. Kai was the one with the enormous stash he thought no one knew about. The redhead's fingers brushed over the spine of something called _Desire_, when something glommed onto his jean-clad legs. He turned his gaze down, ready to glare the murder he wished to inflict upon a certain pop princess when he realized:

There were two somethings on his legs.

Red hair, tanned skin, 'X'-shaped scar...Daichi?

And, more importantly, the brown mop that was Kenny.

"**_Tala_**!" He loved the way Kenny screamed his name. "You have to help us!"

"SHE'S CRAZY, I TELL YOU!" Daichi bellowed, looking like a frantic monkey.

Everyone in the store but a few teenage girls, who were giggling and whispering to eachother, was glaring at the three bladers. Tala glared back. Everyone looked hastily away. Smirking at that, the Russian bent down (whoa, they were both so short!) and put his arms across their shoulders, which got more giggles...well...hmm...

"Shh... It's, uh, okay." Hm. Crap. He wasn't good at the whole 'comfort' thing. " Who's crazy?" _Besides me for you, Kenny..._Damn_, that was corny...Wait...OH MY EFFING-! I'M TURNING INTO KAI! _

Tala twitched. And twitched some more.

"Well-"

"SHE'S INSANE! MY STYLE IS UNIQUE!" Tala clamped a hand over Daichi's loud mouth and waited for Kenny's answer.

"Hilary's taking us shopping," The brunette mumbled, looking a little embarrassed at how silly that sounded as he explained, "It's really bad! She's trying to force all sorts of weird clothes on us!"

Tala's jaw dropped in surprise, his own words of a week ago coming back to him.

_"He wouldn't dress so badly if **I** could get a hold of him..."_

A smirk that could only be classified as EVIL appeared on Tala's face. "Well, let's find Hilary and have a little talk about this, boys..."

* * *

Tyson drained his bowl, then leaned back and sighed in bliss. "YUM! That was delicious! My compliments to the chef!" He enthused, then paused as he noticed Kai's stare. "Something the matter? Don't you like this kind?"

Kai shook his head, muttered under his breath to his bowl something that sounded an awful lot like there being 'few things more unromantic than _ramen noodles'_ but couldn't be. Then he glared at the perfectly innocent bowl of noodles, soup, various veggies. More particularly, the bit of egg topping the dish.

_'If it weren't dead (and food), it would be withering under that evil Death Glare 500.'_ Tyson found himself thinking quite insanely, before switching his attention to completely Kai.

Even while looking murderous, Kai was the most gorgeous person he'd ever seen. 'Pretty' wasn't the right word for it, nor was 'handsome'. 'Beautiful'? ...Maybe if he was feeling poetic (a rare, alcohol-induced state. He blamed Gramps.).

Kai was simply...Kai. No one could mistake those features – those defiant eyes, flawless skin, blue triangles and, of course, that infamous gray and blue-black hair. All made complete with that disapproving _scowl_ Tyson had grown to love... To make matters worse, Kai was confident in everything he did, cool as ice unless you somehow manage to reallyyyy annoy him (an art Tyson was proud to have perfected!).

Tyson smiled thinly, knowing he should simply be glad that he was of the privleged few who could honestly say they knew that deep down, Kai was a **good person**.

That, and the Russian could never be a villain – the one time he tried, he was found to have a** terrible **evil laugh.

Tyson suddenly wanted to laugh at that memory, so long ago, back in their first year as the BladeBreakers... when Kai thought he was alone in the world...

"Sasuke-e..." someone whined.

Tyson blinked, snapping of his Kai-pondering and turning his eyes upon a strange pair of boys. One was blond and tanned, the other dark-haired and pale.

And the blond was being ignored. (Tyson immediately sympathized.)

"Sasukeeee..." he repeated, rocking impatiently on his stool. His light blue eyes were wide and imploring, and he was doing the best puppy-face possible with (cat-like, maybe?) whiskers.

The pale boy didn't look up. His response was simple: "Hn."

The beyblader blinked. That was familiar.

The blond boy tried again. "Saaaaasukeeeeee... I'm hungryyyyy..."

Now he looked up, narrowing dark eyes. "So order another bowl." He suddenly smirked. "You're paying, after all."

The tanned youth crossed his arms, pouting. "No fair, you're the rich one!" The blond paused, and an impish kitsune grin formed across his face as his eyes slipped shut. Tyson found himself thinking that was far better suited for the blond, with his whiskers and all... especially when he began to laugh evilly. Not that bad, either.

The dark-haired friend arched an eyebrow and - somehow - managed to gracefully slurp ramen. The navy-haired teen was thoroughly impressed.

"You're right...I guess that's the price I have to pay." He pitched forward, placing a hand on the pale boy's cheek. "To be on top, I mean."

His hand was quickly slapped away, followed by a grumpy, "We're in public!"

Tyson watched with complete interest now. Eavesdropping as it was...he didn't care.

"So? I'm hungry...but not for food." The blond reached up and traced his "friend's" jaw, not even bothering to whisper, "...My Delicious Little Ramen Noodle."

Sasuke, anger-mark pulsing, snapped, "I won't accept that type of talk outside the bedroom!"

He stood up and stormed out of the stand, his lover laughing as he followed behind.

'_"Outside the bedroom"..._' Tyson repeated in his head, mouth falling open in a little 'o'. Stunned as he was by the shameless display, he couldn't stop a little part of himself from wishing that was him and a certain **gorgeous **_rival_ of his...

* * *

End chapter.


End file.
